Storm Center Update - Saturday PM

We’ve got an interesting forecast ahead for the week to come. There are several cold fronts and weak systems to watch out for. This is a prime transition period between seasons and our best tools keep going back and forth on how cold next week will be.

First, let’s look at tonight. There is leftover moisture in the far NE and east counties. That should lead to pockets of low clouds and/or fog this evening along Buffalo Ridge and the Coteau. A trailing system comes out of Montana and Wyoming later tonight. We’re seeing the first radar returns from that now near Bison and Buffalo. This wave doesn’t carry much moisture, either, as the bulk of it goes into North Dakota and Nebraska. It’s led by a cold front that will move in tonight. After midnight, the sparse moisture moves into the Black Hills. This could start as rain before changing into snow. Every model signals less than a tenth of an inch of moisture, but a couple of inches of snow could drop on the northern Hills. That stuff eventually makes it closer to Sioux Falls and Aberdeen after 4:00 a.m. This would be misty, drizzly light rain.

The bigger story tomorrow will be strong NW winds and the dropping temperatures. We should have plenty of low clouds and, frankly, it won’t be the prettiest day. The highs you see in the forecast will be brief. That fog/drizzle mess could last awhile, depending if the winds sort themselves out.

Monday shows signs of finally warming. That cold front’s impact isn’t as dramatic as before, so we will warm a touch. Tuesday and Wednesday will be warm and sunny but the next cold blast is speeding up. That will likely knock Rapid City back on Wednesday before the real brunt moves in Thursday.

We’ll need to monitor the next storm coming in late Thursday/early Friday. That quick hit of moisture could carry some snow for all of us.